Problems Facing Educators

The current status of the United States’ educational system provides researchers with a variety of situations which aid in further analysis of the biggest problems facing educators today. Many may argue that inconsistencies in curriculum, the decline in parental involvement, and even the rapidly rising American obsession with television are some of the biggest conundrums that teachers must work around today. I, however, feel that the effects of social inequalities have the most crippling effect on our school system, and all of those involved within the system, today. In this paper I will identify reasons why class status and inequalities are at the root of some of education’s biggest problems; explaining how class status of children affects student learning, the job performances of teachers and administrators, and finally, ways in which this problem could be addressed by the educational system and other social institutions.

Interference with Student Learning

Class status is a label that all individuals find hard to escape, including students. Individuals share the same class when they have similar opportunities within the labor market. In the United States, most individuals believe in the “American Dream;” feeling that hard work and educational advancement are rewarded with upward mobility. Most individuals either label themselves as middle class, or expect to one day achieve middle class standings. While in the United States, most individuals feel that education is the key to achieve life goals of upward mobility; this is not always an accurate expectation (Bullock and Limbert 2003).

Because individuals are likely to remain in the same social status that they were born into, in a way, class is inherited, and therefore virtually inescapable. Additionally, environmental factors surrounding class status also make it difficult for students to become upwardly mobile. The class status of an individual not only sets up expectations that society feels the student will live up to, but also individual expectations that the students feel are their only options. For these reasons, class status is something that affects the educational experiences of all students (DeMarrais and LeCompte 199-200).

One major side effect that results from class status is alienation. The process of alienation occurs when the social structures around an individual change in a manner of which they can not control, or even adjust to. In order to adjust to the evolution of social institutions, including education, an individual must possess a certain kind of social or cultural capitol in which to utilize for adaptation. When a student is incapable of adapting to the changes being presented in their school, they become static, and unable to progress. This causes the student to be alienated from those around them who had the means to adapt to said changes. Also, if a student is aware that they have no control over the changes happening around them, they may be discouraged to even try to adapt successfully, loosing interest in their work. Because the changes in expectations for students most typically reflect the ideals of middle to upper class whites, those students who do not fall within these categories do not possess the resources needed to adapt (DeMarrais and LeCompte 205).

Because individual schools set up standards, whether formal or informal; students must be able to meet these standards in order to progress successfully within their educational experience. These could be expectations in dialect, communication styles, manners and etiquette etc., and are referred to as social capital. The students who lack these characteristics may be perceived as being less capable than those who do. When the expected characteristics are those which are associated with higher or middle classes, students who are of the lower or working classes will be left behind. While upper and middle class students were socialized at birth to value these characteristics, those of lower classes may learn to value different areas of social or cultural capital which are not helpful within their schools. This could be an even bigger problem when students attending a school which does not meet adequate yearly progress standards choose to transfer to a new school, with justification from the No Child Left Behind Act, in order to obtain a better education. If these students transfer to a school where they lack the social capital needed to progress, they will quickly fall behind despite their efforts to achieve the best education (DeMarrais and LeCompte 208).

According to the Marxist Model, the effects of students status on their education are a huge issue, even handicapping their chances at life. Even when members of the working class have high levels of education, they are still incapable of achieving the prestige as students of the upper classes. Their amount of education simply can not be translated into comparable occupational and economic prestige of those who are in classes above them, who may even have less education than them. Again, this process can lead to burnout, alienation, and simple lack of motivation in students of lower and working classes (DeMarrais and LeCompte 214-215).

The United States is generally labeled a meritocratic society, within which achievements gained provide upward mobility to members of the society. The keys to upward mobility within such societies are only easily attainable by the upper classes. These keys include: acquiring at least some of the characteristics of the upper class, and learning the language patterns, social graces, and behavioral habits of the class to which one aspires. In a school that encourages these aspirations which are not always ideal for lower or working class students, it may not be realistic for students to keep up, or even be expected to embrace these expectations (DeMarrais and LeCompte 209).

For those of lower class status, education serves as their only real chance at leaving their status and becoming upwardly mobile within society. When students of a lower class become aware of the fact that their education will likely not lead to any higher status, education begins to loose its value. These students realize that the old adage of “work hard in school and it will pay off in the end” really is not necessarily true for them. Unless these students have the means to leave their communities in search of more promising jobs, their education will have little effect on their eventual occupational status. While students may still achieve their high school diplomas, when there are no jobs available which even require this accomplishment, what value did their education have to them? This phenomenon of increasing degree achievement accompanied by lack of appropriate employment opportunities is known as degrees inflation (DeMarrais and LeCompte 210).

Students of lower classes have a much lower probability of going to college than those of class status above them. Even though, as pointed out previously, achieving the highest level of education does not guarantee prestige, how can these individuals even have realistic hopes of upward mobility when they are far less likely to go to college than their peers based only on their class? These structured inequalities are inescapable (Murphy 1992).

Finally, issues of funding based on the class status of individuals within the school district provide inequalities in the quality of education children receive. Jonathon Kozol’s Savage Inequalities, points out the inequalities created by the financing of schools. Wealthier areas are able to provide better teachers and administrators, drawn in by bigger salaries, better facilities, and more program options than those that are given to poorer, lower class students (Feldman 2003).

Interference with Teachers and Administrators

Educators and administrators are most likely to be categorized in the upper and middle classes. Because of their class status, they may be unaware of the obstacles which their lower class students face. Because these teachers and administrators benefit from the privileges associated with their higher status, they may feel it is their obligation to maintain these ideals. Also, since education points out the inequalities of classes more easily to individuals who fall at the bottom than those who rank among the highest in society, educators and administrators may have a difficult time even relating to their lower class students (Kane and Kyyro 2001).

Because students are often grouped within schools based on their ability, students of lower classes who do not have the capital needed to achieve the highest test scores, will only have their differences reinforced by such groupings. Ability grouping often is based on perceptions made by teachers about the students, who are not assessed merely on the basis of their academic competence. Because lower class students often lack the cultural capital needed to excel in such setting, they are often initially judged by their educators as less able, a label that may often stick. Research shows that upper and middle class students are often judged to be “more clean, quiet, respective acting, and brighter,” than their lower classes peers regardless of their actual ability. Additionally, teachers and administrators, who are most frequently in the middle and upper classes, are most likely to favor the students who share their own values. Because these educators are most likely born with or have acquired their middle class standings, goals, aspirations etc., they may have difficulty interacting with students who do not have these traits in common with them (DeMarrais and LeCompte 215-216).

Also, research suggests that educators choose to interact more with student they view as being “high learners;” giving these students the following advantages over their lower peers: higher expectations, more praise when correct, less criticism when incorrect, more creativity in assignments, more opportunities for engagement in higher-order thinking skills, more access to innovative programs such as computer skills, and more encouragement or chances when their performance is inadequate. Because lower class students are more likely to be labeled as “low learners” their chances at receiving the same enriching education as their higher peers is diminished (DeMarrais and LeCompte 216).

Teachers and administrators of lower class students often provide a completely different education environment than their counterparts who interact with higher class students. These teachers often use more custodial forms of behavior management, offer only remedial course work, assume their students will not do well, interact less with their students, give less encouragement, and worry less about student drop out. The findings are consistent for poor white, black, and Latino students (DeMarrais and LeCompte 216).

Another possible effect social class can provide an educator is the phenomenon of burnout. When teachers and administrators realize that their efforts with students are not guaranteed to offer the rewards that they argue education provides, burnout can occur. Similar to students becoming discouraged by the lack of available opportunities despite their education, this same situation can serve as a source of decreased motivation for teachers and administrators. When an educator knows that despite their students’ achievements, they will be likely to never become upwardly mobile, they may feel discouraged with their job, or even feel that the effort is hopeless (DeMarrais and LeCompte 210).

Possible Solutions

In order to make advances in diminishing the effects of social class, and the inequalities produced by class status, it is important for educators to consider the status of their students, making adjustments in their curriculum accordingly. For example, some teachers, such as those at West Point, are using a modified version of monopoly as a means of actually educating their classes about class inequalities. Participants are assigned social class standings, and must play the game according to the characteristics associated with their given status. For example, upper class players are allowed to always take their turn first, and are also given the most number of chances for playing. Also, upper class players are permitted to buy any property they wish, while those under them are assigned certain areas for property purchase based on their assigned class. While I think this game is beneficial, since it educates students about what it’s like to be in a different class, I feel that it could be harmful because it draws more attention to the discrepancies in class that younger students may not even be aware of. Once students are aware of the characteristics associated with their status they may internalize their label, or develop a self-fulfilled prophesy, feeling that they can never get past their roles within society (Ender 2004).

When consulting my mother, who teaches in a very poor Title I school, I realized how uneducated many of our teachers are about the effects of class status on their students. While my mother has been teaching for twenty-seven years, she was aware of the disadvantages her poor students faced, but did not know the extent of research which had been done to analyze the social implications class status has on education. I feel that it is important to educate all teachers and administrators so that they may be better able to utilize sources which can provide their lower class students with the help they need to keep up with their higher class peers. If a school is not educated that such differences exist, it would not be possible for them to explore possible alternatives and adjustments in curriculum which could make up for the social inequalities, which greatly effect education, society has handed their students.

Additionally, more attempts at acquiring additional funds for poor schools could help to give lower class students more equal opportunities at education. With additional funding and programs, such students may be able to acquire the cultural capital needed to become upwardly mobile within the class system of our society. More vocational programs, teaching students a skill that can be directly applied in the workforce, can also serve as beneficial to students who do not live in an area where educational achievement is necessary for obtaining a job. Where there are no jobs available for students with high education, those who did not seek college degrees can still support their family based on a skill they have learned which is valued in alternative work environments.

Conclusion

In this work I have argued that class status is the biggest problem facing educators today. Inequalities produced by class status are often reinforced by education, and are virtually inescapable by those who hold the status. Students of lower classes do not possess the cultural and social capital needed for them to excel in an environment that values the capital that only members of middle and upper classes can easily obtain. Student may experience alienation due to their inability to adjust to evolving standards of education, begin to devalue education when pay off for hard work is not culpable, and are often inaccurately judged or labeled by teachers and administrators based solely on their class status. Educators and administrators frequently do not offer the same high quality experience to their lower class peers than their upper and middle class students, and may experience burnout due to factors manifested by their students’ status. Educating teachers and students about class inequalities, and adjusting curriculum to make up for inequalities attributed to the lack of social and cultural capital of lower class student can help to alleviate this problem. Also, importantly, additional funding given to poor schools can greatly lessen the educational quality gap between lower and upper class students.